MONTFERRIER LEZ: A hooded man wielding a knife murdered a woman at a retirement home for missionaries in southern France on Thursday triggering a manhunt, with the country still on edge following a string of jihadist attacks.

The man, brandishing a sawn-off shotgun and a knife, tied up and killed the woman who worked at the home in the village of Montferrier-sur-Lez near the city of Montpellier, a prosecutor said.

More than 70 men and women, most of whom served as missionaries in Africa, live at the home.

Armed police searched the building but believe the man fled, sources close to the police operation said, and a large-scale police operation was under way to find the unidentified attacker. A helicopter was seen flying over the area, scanning the ground with a giant spotlight.

Investigators so far had no evidence to suggest the attack was terror-related at a time when France remains under a state of emergency after a number of Islamist atrocities, including the murder of an elderly Catholic priest in July.

“For the time being, there is only one victim,” Montpellier prosecutor Christophe Barret said. “For the moment there is no particular evidence about the motive for this crime.” “Nothing is pointing towards the motive” of the killer, he added.

The man was not known to authorities.

Residents of the home “are very elderly with an average age of 75 although some are more than 90,” said Alain Berthet, a local councillor in Montferrier-sur-Lez. Many of the residents require assistance to walk, he said.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2016